Meritor Wabco receives national transportation award

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) has honored Meritor Wabco with its Smart Solution Spotlight in recognition of its radar-based OnGuard collision safety system.

The award honors companies and organizations for using innovative technology to create a safer, cleaner, more efficient and sustainable transportation system.

OnGuard, which includes collision warning with adaptive cruise control and active braking and a collision mitigation system, assists a driver in maintaining a safe following distance and reducing the risk of rear-end collisions.

The organizations

ITS America is the leading advocate for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology development and deployment in the United States.

Meritor Wabco is a North American joint venture focused on the development and delivery of proven, integrated safety technology and efficiency-smart components. These include braking systems and controls, active safety systems and suspension and control systems for commercial vehicles in North America

The award

Meritor Wabco was presented with the ITS America Smart Solution Spotlight award in recognition of the company’s use of “smart” technology to reduce the numbers of commercial motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities in the United States.

“ITS America is proud to honor Meritor WABCO, a company that is leading the way in the use of technology to improve safety in trucking and commercial fleets,” says Scott Belcher, president and CEO of ITS America.

Meritor Wabco’s OnGuard Collision Safety System provides vehicles with adaptive cruise control with active braking both in cruise and when cruise control is not engaged, as the system is always on, explains Jon Morrison, president and general manager, Meritor Wabco. OnGuard uses forward-looking radar sensor technology featuring software that monitors the distance, speed and deceleration of a vehicle ahead.

When OnGuard detects that a potential collision is developing, it sends audible and visual warnings through an in-cab dash display so the driver can take appropriate action, he says. If the driver doesn’t immediately decelerate the vehicle in response to a potential collision, the collision mitigation system integrated within OnGuard is designed to automatically de-throttle the engine and provide up to a 50 percent full-service brake application to help the driver avoid or reduce the severity of a rear-end collision.

"Meritor Wabco has long been committed to developing intelligent technology to improve commercial vehicle safety and we appreciate ITS America's recognition of that work," Morrison says. "Through continuous innovation and improvements, products like OnGuard are going a long way to not only decreasing rear-end collisions, but creating platforms for more intelligent safety systems down the road."